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Rating: 
Summary: Great scholastic research on the effects of US immigration
Review: After finishing this book I was surprised at the level-headed approach Mr. Suro took in writing on such a heated topic. I would give it 5 stars, except that nowadays, parts of it is slightly outdated in regards to some of the "INS" sections (it was written in 1998). But I was impressed with the author's ability to tear apart the prejudices that naturally form against the barrios and other immigrant pockets in US citis (legal or otherwise), and get to the root cause of their poverty. He makes some surprising (and very logical) conclusions and unlike other books on this topic, offers answers. One such answer is that legal immigrants need to express an anti-illegal attiude toward those who are illegaly coming to the US-- and they need to do so to help those who are here legally (or those who are illegal and won't leave) to get out of this poverty.He also disects another strange phenomenon among first generation US-born children: great attachment (and patriotism) to their parents' home countries, even when they've never been there. Mr Suro uses historical examples from Euro-immigrants in the early 1900s and suggests that the best way for today's immigrants (and first generation Americans) to get out of poverty and illegality is to "meld" into the US culture-- i.e. learn and speak English, go to school, move out of the barrio, become American! Rather then ramming these concepts and solutions down your throat, Mr Suro brings you to them through logic and research. He introduces you to the people who came here and how they did it, and how they are surviving. I really appreciate his "researched" tone as opposed to other works that show a predisposed "news paper editor" tone. A great read and research book.
Rating:
Summary: Great scholastic research on the effects of US immigration
Review: After finishing this book I was surprised at the level-headed approach Mr. Suro took in writing on such a heated topic. I would give it 5 stars, except that nowadays, parts of it is slightly outdated in regards to some of the "INS" sections (it was written in 1998). But I was impressed with the author's ability to tear apart the prejudices that naturally form against the barrios and other immigrant pockets in US citis (legal or otherwise), and get to the root cause of their poverty. He makes some surprising (and very logical) conclusions and unlike other books on this topic, offers answers. One such answer is that legal immigrants need to express an anti-illegal attiude toward those who are illegaly coming to the US-- and they need to do so to help those who are here legally (or those who are illegal and won't leave) to get out of this poverty. He also disects another strange phenomenon among first generation US-born children: great attachment (and patriotism) to their parents' home countries, even when they've never been there. Mr Suro uses historical examples from Euro-immigrants in the early 1900s and suggests that the best way for today's immigrants (and first generation Americans) to get out of poverty and illegality is to "meld" into the US culture-- i.e. learn and speak English, go to school, move out of the barrio, become American! Rather then ramming these concepts and solutions down your throat, Mr Suro brings you to them through logic and research. He introduces you to the people who came here and how they did it, and how they are surviving. I really appreciate his "researched" tone as opposed to other works that show a predisposed "news paper editor" tone. A great read and research book.
Rating:
Summary: Get to know some strangers
Review: Even having once lived in a predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood in Manhattan's LES, I remained mostly ignorant of the socioeconomic forces at work there; this book not only discusses the ups and downs of the Latino community in NYC, but also spends time in California, Texas, and Florida. Suro not only introduces us to dozens of 'ordinary' Latino lives in the USA, he uses their stories to illustrate the dynamics behind demographic trends. He explains to us how the economic stepladder that once followed the 3 generation model of "peddler, plumber, professional" is now broken, and what is happening as a result. The success stories are inspiring, although sometimes bittersweet. Suro's work is full of surprises and engaging statements such as, "anti-immigrant anxieties in American society today cannot be explained simply as eruptions of racism and xenophobia." While this is an incredibly insightful book, the one problem (through no fault of the author) is that it was written before 9/11 - which is very relevant in this case, as the book largely dwells upon the topic of immigration. Suro seems to me to have his own love/hate relationship with immigrants, but I will leave it to you to find out what I mean by this...read his book.
Rating: 
Summary: The real deal with immigration
Review: Mr. Suro went beyond the statistics and the fear to provide an objective and humanistic view on the problem of immigration. I strongly recommend this book if you want to hear the other side of the story.
Rating:
Summary: Learned more about my culture
Review: This book was very informative. Roberto Suro is an excellent writer, he used great resources. It's his first book I have read and won't be my last. It opened my eyes to alot of issues I wasn't aware of in my hispanic culture.
Rating:
Summary: The real deal with immigration
Review: This is an excellent book, in a journalistic style but extremely sensitive and not sensationalist, about the life and struggles of most of immigrants from Latin America. It also gives a realistic vision of the changing demographics of the US and how this immigration will shape positively or negatively the future of the country depending on how the Government and the society deals with it in terms of education and equal opportunities to get through and succeed and reach the American dream. A great book for everybody: those who are trying to discover the Latino culture and conflicts and also those who have a Latino heritage and are trying to go to their roots to understand their communities, their parents and themselves better. I recommend this book to everyone.
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